


I've Been Waiting

by Magentas_Nightmare



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Daryl Dixon and Merle Dixon are Siblings, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Merle Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 13:40:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21357139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magentas_Nightmare/pseuds/Magentas_Nightmare
Summary: Sometimes patience in love can pay off, Merle is about to discover that this is true...
Relationships: Merle Dixon/Andrea Harrison
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**I've Been Waiting**

** <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz7qj3MteS0> **

**I've Been Waiting - Matthew Sweet**

* * *

Merle walked into the Christmas party, dreading it, as he did with most forced merriment situations, but it was the night that everything changed for him. It was the night he met Andrea.

“Hey, man. This is Andrea,” Shane had said when he finished grabbing a beer and approached him with his new girlfriend.

“Nice to meet you.”

“Merle, right?”

“That’s me.”

“Shane has told me so much about you.”

“It’s all lies.”

“Nah, it was all good things.”

Shane had walked away to grab another drink then, and Merle would never forget the way she fidgeted with the straw in her drink. They made small talk and it was nothing special, but he was sure from that moment on that she was meant to be his and for two years he kept his mouth shut…he wasn’t the kind of guy that messed with someone else’s relationship. It was just something in the air, a kind of electricity he felt whenever her eyes met his. He could picture their lives together and that had never happened to him with any woman. He could just see them together, happy and in love. For a moment, he wondered if it was just the drink but for the next two years, the feeling never faded. Merle knew he wouldn’t try to take her from Shane, that wasn’t his style.

Still, he waited for a chance to be with her, a chance to show her what he already knew to be true…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merle got the call at 1:45 pm on Friday asking him to help her move a load of furniture; he said yes right away. Maybe this was his one chance.

Shane had finally blown it with Andrea, and Merle couldn’t be happier. The truth was that Shane had been messing around on her for a couple of weeks with Lori anyway. Merle couldn't believe he'd gone and done something so stupid, but again, he couldn't be happier.

When he showed up at the home she had shared with Shane for almost 2 years, she was sitting on the front porch in a pair of faded jeans and a white tank top, her baby pink bra faintly visible beneath the fabric.

“Hey, Merle,” she sighed. “Thanks for coming, my moving men fell through.”

“It’s alright, honey.”

He’d never felt like she and Shane made sense. What did make sense to Merle was having her underneath him, moaning his name, but what did he know?

“Everything I’m taking is stacked up in the living room, there isn’t very much.”

“You just sit and relax, I got this,” he said, when she got up to help him.

“You sure?” she checked.

“Yeah, you’ve had a rough week, honey. I got this.”

“It has been a long one,” she shrugged. “Shane said he’d give me the whole day to take all my stuff, promised he won’t be back till after midnight.”

Merle hated to see her looking so down, and he could tell she had those “What does she have that I don’t?” blues and he wanted to fix it for her if he could.

“You know, I don’t think Lori holds a candle to you,” he began.

“Thanks…I’ve been comparing myself to her for the last few days in my head and coming up short.”

She was standing in the narrow hallway between the kitchen and living room, looking small and defeated.

“You’re a fuckin’ stunner, Andrea. If Shane don’t see that, then tough shit for him, he don’t deserve you anyway.”

She looked up at him and he could see the faint glimmer of tears in her eyes.

“Hey now, honey, don’t be sad.”

She took a few steps toward him like a sad child and in a heartbeat, she was in his arms. Her face pressed to his chest, gently sobbing. He knew he was a very bad man for the thoughts in his head at that moment, but he couldn’t care less. He was ready to chase all her sadness away and he didn’t even mind doing it in Shane’s house if it came down to it.

“It ain’t gonna hurt forever, Andrea, and when it stops you know you could have any man you want. It’s gonna be fine real soon,” he cooed as his right hand held her cheek against his neck.

“You’re so good to me, Merle. Thank you.”

“Well, I like ya.”

“And you promise it’ll stop hurting?” she asked with a shrug as she backed up enough to begin wiping her eyes.

“Tell me something, Andrea.”

“What?”

“Are you sad cause you loved him? Or are you sad cause you feel rejected and betrayed?”

She paused for a moment and really thought about it before answering.

“Probably more of the second one…you’re good at reading me, aren’t you?”

“I’ve just been where you are, it don’t feel very good.”

“You really think I’m a stunner?” she asked softly.

“Yeah, I always thought that. Why?”

Her eyes moved from his face to his shoulders and down his chest to the belt buckle just above his growing weakness.

“I just wanted to know…I always thought you looked good too.”

“Get outta town,” he chuckled in his endearing, self-deprecating, ‘reel ‘em in’ kind of way.  
“I mean it,” she answered, her eyes loaded with suggestion.

“Think I’m readin’ something with you right now,” he said.

“You’re probably reading it right,” she whispered.

“You feelin’ like you need a release…and maybe messing with me would be some sweet revenge against the prick?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “But what about you and Shane?”

“I couldn’t give a fuck what he thinks, I just wanna make you feel good.”

“Damn,” she grinned.

“Just tell me you want it,” he demanded.

“I do…I need it.”

He took her face then, in his huge warm hands and brought his mouth to the side of her neck, cheek-to-cheek.

“I’m gonna do my best to make you forget his name. I've been waiting for just a chance to be with you...all this time.”

“Jesus,” she whimpered, and he knew she was already half-way there.

Merle backed her slowly to the wall, never letting go of her face, and as her back touched the wall, he began. He drifted his lips over hers a few times before planting a kiss on her mouth that set her aflame. Merle had always wondered what kissing her would be like. Shane wasn’t the devil or anything, but he didn’t cherish her the way she deserved and now that he had the chance to show her, he was going to run with it.

He raised her hands slowly over her head and he urged himself between her thighs to let her feel how much he meant it, how much he needed it too. Andrea pulled her right leg up and around his hip to allow him as close as possible and he knew she could really feel it.

“He never appreciated what he had…that always pissed me off. He didn’t really listen to your stories,” Merle said as his tongue drifted along her collar bone.

“He really didn’t…he never remembered any details. How did you notice that?”

“Cause I was listening.”

“You were?”

“Yeah…I remember everything, like about your sister’s wedding and how pissed you were at her for having your mother’s wedding dress altered without asking you first.”

“Merle…”

She was stunned, impressed, maybe even a little afraid of how close he had been paying attention.

“I’m not obsessed, I just like you,” he assured her. “I always have.”

“I liked you too,” she moaned as he gently thrust against her. “That time we all went to the lake…I watched you chopping wood for an hour with no shirt on. I don’t think I even blinked.”

Merle reached down to slowly pull his shirt over his head and looked down into her cool blue eyes.

“Tell me what you were thinking,” he growled.

“I wanted to touch you…you looked so good in the sun; I just couldn’t look away.”

“You can touch me all you like now,” he winked.

Andrea’s hands began at his shoulders and drifted down his chest to his belt buckle where he took her hand in his own and moved it further south, her eyes never leaving his and becoming wider when she felt it for herself.

“Feel what you do to me?”

“Yes…”

“Feel good?”

“This is killing me,” she whined. “I need it right now.”

The slow, teasing hell of it all was finally getting to her.

Merle moved his kisses to her chest and his hands to her ass as he continued to thrust slow and steady.

“I wanna strip you bare and fuck you right against this wall and then on every other surface of his fuckin’ house. Sound good to you?”

“Please…do it now.”

“Needy, huh? No problem.”

His fingers went straight for the button and fly of her jeans and they were instantly yanked down, taking her red panties with them. He wasn’t about to waste any time.

Merle dropped to his knees slowly, kissing his way down her body all the way to her feet before looking up into her eyes for the answer.

“Please,” she begged.

Her right leg was eased up over his shoulder and he kissed from her inner knee to the crux of her thighs, licking up the seam of her womanhood, seeking permission from her body.

Grasping fingers threaded through his hair as his tongue slipped between her lips and began to move like a wave over her sweet spots.

Her body hungered for penetration and her clit craved just a little more, just a little bit more, right there…

Merle’s thick fingers entered her, and he claimed her clit with his mouth, sucking gently, teasing with the slick wet flat of his tongue.

He looked up in time to see her pull the undershirt over her head and release her breasts from her bra.

“Fuckin’ hell,” he groaned.

She said she could feel it coming and he moaned long and slow into her sweet flesh leaving a rippling vibration throughout her core.

“Oh God! Oh God damn…Merle!”

/

Andrea repeated her pleasure over and over in a continuous rhythm of ecstasy and was swept away. Inside out, the pleasure was everywhere. Her pussy still trembled around his thick fingers until he slowly withdrew them and asked if she was ready for the real thing.

“Yes,” she cried out desperately.

In a heartbeat, he was standing and unbuckling his belt. Merle’s belt buckle had always drawn her attention and it was for more than the “Everyone Loves a Georgia Boy” phrase engraved on it.

He dropped his jeans to his knees in a fury of lust and there it was, the most formidable cock in all of Georgia.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed.

“You up for it?” he winked, and she had never been so hot before.

A nod of her head was all it took, and she was lifted, up into his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist, and his strong right hand guiding his cock into her.

Andrea’s eyes rolled back into her head and a visceral groan filled the hallway as his dick stretched her so perfectly from every angle.

He buried his face between her breasts and held her up with both hands claiming her ass as he drove into her sweet and slow at first.

“Like that, honey? You forget about him yet?”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about,” she giggled between panting and whining.

It took her breath away, the sensation of his manhood laying waste to every desire she’d ever known. No man ever felt like this inside her, no man ever made her feel so beautiful, no man was quite like Merle Dixon.

“You fuck me so good, baby!” she found herself crying out in her sexual abandon.

“Like that, honey? he growled. “Lemme keep givin’ it to ya, Andrea. I’ll give you everything I got whenever you want.”

“Don’t stop…don’t ever stop.”

He carried her a few steps to the kitchen counter next and she leaned back against the cupboards as he sucked her nipples and never stopped driving his massive cock home.

Sweat erupted on both their foreheads and they panted from the passion and emotion of it all. Andrea was done for and she knew it.

/

Merle finally got her to the bed at some point in the sexual fury and she insisted on taking a turn on top.

“You look fuckin’ perfect over me, honey.”

And she did look perfect. Merle couldn’t imagine another woman looking this right staring down into his eyes as she rode his cock. The blonde waves of her hair, and her cornflower blue eyes leaving him weak. She was just what he wanted, and he didn’t plan to let go unless she insisted.

She stopped riding him long enough to tease him with a slow and sultry blow job that drove him out of his mind, but then she took him out just right.

He pulled her mouth down to his as he came and kissed her so deep. Merle wanted it to last and wanted to make that crystal clear before he walked away.

/

“I can’t believe that just happened.”

It took her 10 minutes to say anything, leaving him afraid of what she was thinking.

“Regrets?” he asked with intense trepidation.

“No. I feel great.”

“Thank Christ,” he sighed.

“You?”

“No regrets here, in fact, I wouldn’t mind doing this exclusively with you.”

“Me too.”

“You don’t have to say that, I’ll still help you move,” he teased, leaving the door open for her to walk through if she wanted to.

“I mean it…nothing like this has ever happened to me.”

“I really care about you, Andrea, so if you need a little time to get over what happened with Shane, I’ll wait as long as you like.”

“I’m good. It would be nice to go on a date or something next time, but I don’t need any time.”

Merle smiled and pulled her into his arms to rest for a while. Shane wouldn’t be back for hours, so he was in no rush. Maybe it would be an issue between them, but Shane was the one who strayed first, and Merle was willing to risk the friendship for Andrea.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Merle helped Andrea move to her sister’s place where she was going to stay till she could sort something out more permanently. He left the ball in her court to call him and he was left waiting all weekend until Sunday when she finally did get in touch by phone.

“Hi, Merle.”

“Hey, honey. You all moved in?”

“Yeah, thanks again for all the help.”

It was so casual that he felt weird about the way she was speaking to him, but it only lasted a moment.

“I know it’s Sunday and you need to be at the shop early…but I was wondering if you wanted to hang out.”

He smiled at the way she sounded, young and unsure.

“Yeah, did you want to come over? I know your sister’s got her hubby and the baby there so we could be alone here.”

“Sounds perfect,” she sighed. “I don’t think I can stay here long. I love my sister but there’s no privacy.”

“I get it. Come over whenever you want,” he suggested, hoping he’d see more of her face.

“See you soon then.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

She was there in only twenty minutes and he felt happier the moment she sat next to him on the couch. He had spent the whole weekend panicking that she didn’t want him after all.

“Shane tried to call me a few times and I didn’t pick up,” she sighed. “He picked Lori. Why can’t he just leave me alone now?”

“Maybe he realized he’s an idiot to fuck things up with you?” Merle chuckled.

“I’m not going back so he can just forget it.”

“I’m happy to hear it. Even if you didn’t wanna be with me, you deserve better than him.”

“I do want to be with you.”

“Guess I was being dumb just sittin’ by the phone at my age, but I was wondering if you changed your mind all weekend.”

“I didn’t change my mind. I just needed a day to get the change of addresses straight and unpack my stuff. I think you could be perfect for me, in fact,” she grinned and edged closer to him.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’ll try my best to keep you thinkin’ that,” he chuckled and snuck a quick kiss.

“We kinda started on the 6th date, didn’t we?” she noted.

“True, but we can take a little step back still, and it ain’t like we don’t know each other pretty well already.”

“You have a point there. We aren’t strangers or anything. When should we tell Shane? He will have to know since you two work together.”

“I’ll handle it.”

“He’s going to lose it.”

“I’ll handle it, honey. It’s all good.”

Merle didn’t want her worrying about it and he’d take whatever came his way. Shane lost her fair and square and Merle wasn’t physically afraid of him anyway.

“Are you kinda old fashioned?” she asked with a smirk.

“A little. I know what I want and I’m upfront with people. I jump in and protect women when I can. I don’t think women should have to do heavy lifting or dirty jobs.”

“So, you think we shouldn’t do certain jobs?” she pressed him in a teasing voice.

“I think a woman should do whatever she wants to do, just no woman of mine would ever have to do those things. If she desperately wants to unplug the toilet, I’ll surely let her, but she shouldn’t have to. At least not in my eyes.”

“That’s sweet.”

“I think it’s my job to take care of you, not the other way around.”

“You sound like husband material,” she purred. “Sorry, I’ll be scaring you away next.”

“I ain’t scared. I wanna get married and have kids someday.”

“You do?”

“Hell yeah, just ain’t met a woman who’s game for it yet. Why? You game?” he chuckled.

“I might be.”

“Damn! Let’s hop in the car and head to Vegas then,” he laughed. “We could have a whole field full of little ones if ya like.”

“You’re too much,” she giggled. “But don’t stop cause it’s really cute.”

“Awww shucks!” he laughed. “I’m dad and husband material, honey. Just try me.”

Andrea was up for a joke and that was important to him. She didn’t get easily scared away or take things too seriously, although he would have probably hopped in the car if she’d said yes.

/

Merle and Andrea kissed in front of the TV that night and talked until past midnight. They had spoken casually over the last two years that Merle and Shane worked together, but rarely alone. Now that they were alone, the chemistry was undeniable.

Andrea thought of him all the time and knew that it was headed somewhere very serious already. She felt comfortable with him, she knew she could say anything to him, and he would take it as intended.

On top of everything, the sexual fire was like nothing she’d ever known. Merle seemed to know her body and the way her mind worked. He took over just the way she wanted a man to and backed off without her ever needing to indicate that she needed it. He could read her like he knew her inside and out.

By the time they met up on Monday night for supper, he had already dealt with telling Shane and told her that everything was OK between them. It was just Merle’s way, to take care of things, and he didn’t want Andrea to have to have that conversation. She could hardly believe how much Merle was willing to take on for her.

“So, you just told him?” she asked as they sat down at the booth in her favorite restaurant.

“I took him out for lunch and explained that what happened wasn’t intentional to be an asshole to him, it just kinda happened naturally. I told him that I never tried anything with you while you two were together, but now that he blew it with you, I consider it fair game.”

“And he didn’t flip out?”

“He called be a two-faced prick and I called him a cheating prick and then he calmed down.”

“Men are funny creatures,” she sighed.

“I think he’s a little shocked still, but we’re on speaking terms. He’ll be alright.”

“Thank you for dealing with that.”

“Hey, I told ya. No woman of mine is gonna do the dirty jobs as long as I’m around,” he winked.

“Come here,” she whispered, and in a breath, he was leaning across the table to kiss her.

/

Dinner didn’t last long; Merle was eager to get her home where he didn’t have to worry about PDAs. All he wanted was to touch her all the time. Nothing felt better than when they were entangled in each other’s bodies buck naked.

As soon as they stumbled through the door, he pulled her down on the couch for a childish make out session. They squirmed around on the couch until he was over her, with her head cradled in his strong arm and it felt like coming home. Merle had been there all along and she had found him attractive but still never actually pictured them as a couple. He had always come across as a goof and not the type to be looking for a steady relationship, but she had read him so wrong. Meanwhile, he was reading her just right.

She reached her hand down between their bodies to cup his dick through his jeans and found him raging hard with little provocation.

“Is this all for me, baby?”

“You know it is,” he moaned. “It’s all for you, honey, everything I got.”

“You make me feel so good, Merle…I think this is it.”

“It is, as long as you want it to be. I ain’t going nowhere.”

Everything he said was right. He made her feel sure about everything right from the very beginning.

Merle kissed his way down her body and lingered around her lower belly for a moment, drifting his tongue from one hip bone to the other.

“You make me crazy,” she sighed and the next thing she knew, he was easing her pants down her legs asking if he could please her.

She lay back as he went down on her and felt the skill of his tongue all over her most intimate areas. The man knew his way around a woman’s body and held the keys to her pleasure center already. Looking down to see his big hands holding her outer thighs as his mouth drove her out of her mind just felt so normal. It felt like they’d been together for a long time already, like it was always meant to be just the two of them.

/

She undressed him that evening on the couch and blew him within an inch of his life, her hands working their magic in time with her mouth. Merle wasn’t usually the girlfriend type, but not for lack of trying. He wanted to see if one-night stands could be more than one night, but it never worked out that way. He sometimes had trouble approaching new women when he was sober, so it was mostly one-night stands that he ended up with. Sometimes they’d leave a note, most of the time they didn’t, but he was a heavy sleeper and rarely caught them sneaking off in the morning or whenever they left. Andrea said she was into a real relationship with him and he wasn’t fucking it up for anything. They got along well, the sex was amazing, and he loved her already, he was so sure of it all.

That’s what made the next week so stunning for Merle when things went cold between them and he had no idea why…


	3. Chapter 3

** <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0yo2XqufgU> **

**Gold - Vance Joy**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

Merle spent every evening with her that week, and by Thursday night she decided to stay overnight. The exhaustion from making love on Thursday made it impossible to get out of bed to take her home.

In only a week, they had something so real and something he was sure of.

Shane wasn’t speaking to him much at work, but he knew that it was just his pride. In no time, he’d be over it and everything would be normal again. Shane didn’t really have a leg to stand on when he was the one to ruin things with Andrea in the first place.

Merle called Andrea on Saturday morning after taking her out on Friday night. She said she had an upset stomach that evening, so she hadn’t stayed over. He wanted to check that she was OK.

“Hey, you,” he grinned when she answered the phone. “How are you feeling today?”

“Still feeling a little off…I think maybe I need to stay in bed all day.”

“Can I bring you anything? Some medicine or ginger ale?”

“No, I’ll be OK,” she answered, and he felt like she was trying to get off the phone.

“So, you don’t want any company? I ain’t got anything else to do today…we could nap together,” he suggested.

“I feel kinda gross…”

“Not possible.”

Merle didn’t like this.

“I’ll call you later,” she said finally.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, I’m sorry…it’s just me.”

“Andrea?”

“I’ll call you back when I wake up.”

“OK.”

/

Merle went for a walk down to the bar on the corner and checked his phone every 2 minutes until evening fell. He was a little wobbly when he got back home and felt an overwhelming feeling that it was over with her already. Everything had been OK on Friday until she felt ill out of nowhere.

When the doorbell rang, he was sure it was her, coming to make love and tell him everything was fine, but it wasn’t.

“Hey, man.”

“Hey, Shane. What’s up?”

“Just came to pick up my tools, gonna get working on the truck.”

Merle frowned and led him out to the garage to collect his tools.

“You taking your shit back cause we ain’t friends anymore?” Merle asked.

“Nah, I’m over that. I was pissed at first, but it was just cause we’re friends. My heart wasn’t in the thing with me and Andrea for a while now.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know.”

“She’s great…why didn’t it work with you two?”

“It just didn’t. We don’t actually have a lot in common and when I met Lori…I just liked her more. I guess I’m an asshole, huh?”

“Is what it is I guess.”

“You gonna be the one for her?” Shane asked.

“I’m trying to be.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s acting a little funny since last night…not sure what’s up.”

“Maybe she’s on her rag,” Shane chuckled. “She would get a little moody with me at that time of the month.”

“She probably didn’t take kindly to you sayin’ she’s “on the rag”,” Merle smirked.

“Maybe not. Go and see what her problem is.”

“You think?”

“Yeah, chicks like when you chase them a little…not in a stalker way, but at least go over and see if she’ll talk to you.”

“I’ll have to…this is driving me crazy. Gonna have to take a cab though, I’m a little tipsy still.”

“I’ll drop you off.”

“Thanks…so we still friends then?”

“Yeah, fuck it! Why not?” Shane laughed.

/

Merle took a piece of gum from Shane so his whiskey breath wouldn’t knock her over with a feather. He walked up the path to her sister’s door and was greeted by Amy holding a baby.

“Hey, Merle, right?”

“Yeah, Andrea around?”

“I think so,” she laughed. “She’s been hiding in the basement like a teenager all day.”

“Think she’d mind if I say hi?”

“Go ahead.”

Merle walked in and took off his boots at the door before offering a quick smile and baby talk to the infant.

The dark hallway led to an even darker set of basement steps and he walked slowly down them toward the sound of music.

_ **I have a memory** _   
_ **You're visiting me at night** _   
_ **Climbing in my bed** _   
_ **You were so quiet that you never woke me** _   
_ **I love the way you could** _   
_ **See the good in everything** _   
_ **But, do we fuel the fire?** _   
_ **Closing my eyes, remember how we were like** _

_ **Gold, when you see me** _   
_ **Hi, if you need me** _   
_ **Babe, that's the way it was** _   
_ **That's the history** _   
_ **Blue, how we used to roar** _   
_ **Like an open fire** _   
_ **That's the way it was** _   
_ **But that's history** _

The song sounded a little sad as it crept out from underneath a closed-door where a faint light shined.

He knocked and waited.

“Amy, I’m not hungry.”

“It’s me.”

When she opened the door, he could see that she was crying, and it took him by surprise.

“What’s wrong?”

“Merle…we have to end this.”

“Why? What did I do?”

“You didn’t do anything, it just can’t happen and I’m really sorry…I really want to be with you, but-”

“Wait! What’s going on?”

“I’m pregnant.”

“Already?” he exclaimed.

“It’s not yours, Merle.”

“Oh, duh…of course not. We only just got together,” he shrugged. “I don’t know all that much about pregnancy stuff, sorry.”

“I’m so sorry…I really wanted this.”  
“So…why are you breaking up with me?”

“Did you miss the part where I’m pregnant with another man’s child? It was perfect and now there’s this great big thing between us.”

“There’s nothing in between us, not for me. I still want this. Nothing has changed for me.”

“Don’t be crazy,” she sighed and flopped down on the edge of a twin bed in the guest room that she was currently calling home.

“You don’t want him back though, do you?”

“Not in a million years.”

“But you don’t want to be with me now?”

“Merle…you wanted a family of your own and this is not what you signed up for. We only just started seeing each other.”

“I want this.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying. Don’t sign away your life on a crush, Merle.”

“You think this is just a crush? Is that what it is for you?”

“That’s not what I said…I just need you to actually think about this before you say anything else.”

“I don’t need to think.”

“Please, I really need you to at least take the night and consider it. I need to know that you aren’t acting impulsively. If you still feel the same tomorrow, then come back and see me then.”

“Andrea.”

“Please.”

Merle frowned and hugged her slowly before doing as she wanted and leaving. The night would be long and he couldn’t believe she was questioning his sincerity.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Merle was up most of the night and on Sunday morning, he still felt exactly the same. She was going to learn that about him; once Merle was sure about something, he was sure for life. Shane called him by 9 am and spill the “secret” that Andrea was expecting.

“What the hell am I supposed to do now?” he exclaimed.

“When did she call you?” Merle asked.

“This morning…she said she doesn’t expect anything from me, she just figured I deserved to know. I’m gonna be a dad.”

“Do you want her back?”

“It won’t work…but I still want to see the kid. I hope Lori isn’t gonna cut and run when she hears this. What about you and her?”

“It don’t change a damn thing for me.”

“Really?”

“Nope.”

“Merle, that’s a lot of baggage.”

“I’m up for it…I love her.”

“Looks like she should have been with you all along.”

“Maybe. I just gotta convince her it’s really what I want now.”

“Did she end it?”

“She told me that I had to think it over for the night.”

“I’m not gonna be some useless father, Merle. I’ll still be there for the baby.”

“I know that, and I’m gonna be there for her and the baby when you’re not around.”

“Guess my kid could have a worse stepdad.”

“The baby will have everything it needs with three people around to love it…I just need to get her to see the light now.”

“Go get her, man.”

/

Merle drove straight to Andrea’s sister’s place and he wasn’t leaving without her. Amy smiled when she opened the door and he could tell that she knew.

“She’s downstairs.”

“She OK?”

“I have a feeling she will be now that you’re here.”

Merle nodded and headed down to the room where they had spoken the night before.

/

“Merle…”

She could hear him as he came down the stairs and opened the door before he had a chance to knock.

“Hey, there,” he smiled.

“Hey…have you really thought this over?”

“Shhhh,” he grinned and walked her back to the bed and shut the door.

Andrea had no choice but to hear him out, even though she was afraid of him staying with her out of pity.

“I want a family, you’re right about that. But I don’t want a family without you. I know this is all new, but I know what I feel, and I think you feel it too.”

“I do, Merle…that’s why I don’t want to tie you down when it’s not right.”

“This is right. You and me can’t be wrong when it feels this right.”

“Merle…”

“You told me to think about it, and I did. All night I pictured you all big and pregnant and making love to you every single night…I want this.”

“Where the hell did you come from?” she whimpered.

“Been here all along, and I’ll be here as long as you want me.”

She smiled and dropped her head to her chest to weep softly. When she finally raised her head, she was smirking.

“That’s a pretty smooth line, mister.”

“Not bad, right?” he chuckled. “Now stop being stupid and kiss me.”

Andrea fell into his arms and in one motion she was under him on the little twin bed.

Merle wasn’t taking any more of her doubt and he made it clear that he was in it for the long haul, that nothing was going to change his heart.

“I wanted you all along…I had to stay quiet about it all this time…but it was always you.”

“Couldn’t have wound up pregnant at a worse time though, be honest,” she sighed, as his mouth trail down between her breasts.

“That’s life though, ain’t it?” he laughed. “It’s what happens when you’re makin’ other plans. You, me and the baby are gonna be a family…and Shane’s gonna be a good dad. I already talked to him and it’s all sorted.”

“You what?”

Merle paused for a moment to look down at her face, stunned and awaiting answers.

“He called this morning and I told him that I love you. He says he still wants to be a good father to the baby and he’s fine with me being stepdad if that’s what you want.”

“So, this baby already has two dads,” she grinned.

“Yeah, and I ain’t going anywhere…there’s nobody for me but you.”

“Damn…” she almost whimpered. “There’s nobody else like you, is there?”

“Probably not, the world is only big enough for one Merle Dixon I think,” he chuckled. “Come home with me.”

“What?”

“You wanted more privacy and my place is more than big enough for you to have your own space…don’t think about it, just trust what you’re feeling and come with me.”

She didn’t object, she just got to her feet and followed. Merle wanted her alone in his home, he wanted to be loud and to make love to her in every room.

“I’ll come back for your stuff tomorrow,” he said on their way up the stairs. “Just tell Amy you’re coming over for the night for now.”

“OK,” she nodded, still feeling like her life was pure madness in the moment.

/

Merle opened the door for her to walk inside and turned on the kitchen light to see her face.

“I know it feels insane to you now, but you’re gonna see that I mean every word I said to you. I’ve been waiting for a chance to be with you and now that you’re here with me…I couldn’t be happier.”

“How long have you wanted to be with me?” she asked as she lay her purse on the table.

“Since that first Christmas work party, he brought you to.”

“We met at that party, Merle,” she laughed.

“You asked.”

“So now we’re going to start our lives together and live together…and raise a child together and none of that scares you.”

“I’m not scared at all. Are you scared?”

“Not really. I feel like I should be, but you seem so sure about this.”

“I’m 100% sure…now let’s stop talking and have a little fun,” he winked.

Andrea was pulled into his orbit where everything made sense, and all would be well. Merle kissed her lips soft and slow as she settled into his arms. He waited for her to relax against him completely before walking her to his bedroom where he lay her out slowly.

He lay his hands on the sides of her face and continued to kiss her slow and sweet, he was cherishing the moment. Merle was excited by the prospect of having a family and he couldn’t care less if the child wasn’t biologically his. He had waited so long for her, he wanted to be the one to share parenting with her, watch her become a new mother, be with her every single night of the rest of his life.

They eased into it so naturally, slowly unraveling each other, stripping the other bare and coming together as one.

/

Merle kissed from her forehead to her ankles, he did everything right. Whispering words of assurance as he moved that she was all he wanted left her with zero doubt in her heart that life was going to be nothing but smooth sailing.

His hot breath between her thighs and his smooth tongue against her southern lips left her needy in a way she’d never known. Merle made her so weak for him, so anxious for release.

“How do you know me so well?” she panted as he licked slow wet circles around her clit.

He never stopped to answer, he must have figured it was rhetorical, or maybe he was just busy.

The wet rolling waves of over every nerve left her smoldering on his bed. She reached down to touch him as the edge became clear. Wrapping her fingers around his cock was still stunning. Merle Dixon was 100% man.

“Want it, honey? Want me deep inside ya?”

“You’re too much…I feel like I’m going to burn alive when you touch me.”

He kissed her so hard then, so passionately that she knew he could feel it too, the fire was mutual.

The sensation of him sliding into her was just as good as the first time, just as intense, the emotional high so sweet and overwhelming.

It was almost too much as he held her head in the crook of his strong arm and kept his eyes on hers as the pressure built up inside her. He dropped his head to suck her breasts slow and sensual, tipping the scales as she felt his pelvis nudge her own.

The embers glowed for a moment until a breath of oxygen ignited the kindling.

“Oh fuck...Mmmmm...”

His hips moved in a sleepy rhythm, fucking her so deep but slow and steady too. She could feel every sweet inch filling her and then leaving her body in need between thrusts.

“You’re mine…” she whined. “You were always meant to be mine…I can see it now.”

“I've been waiting all this time for you, and I would have kept right on waiting...ain't nobody else for me.”

He knew she would have fears along the way, she had been betrayed in the worst way possible. Merle knew it wouldn’t be a fairy tale, he knew that it wouldn’t be seamless with Shane involved, but he didn’t care. Andrea was the one he wanted and that wasn’t about to change. From that very first night, Merle knew there was nobody else and patience had finally paid off.


End file.
